Water in the Sava River Basin – H2Ooooh! Competition for school kids from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia

In the context of the third Youth Parliament to be held on 30-31 May 2014 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the International Sava River Basin Commission has launched a creative drawing competition entitled "Water in the Sava River Basin - Development and Protection". The competition is organized in cooperation with the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), within the framework of its H2Ooooh! Initiative.

The International Day of the Sava River is celebrated each year on 1 June. As part of the celebration of this day, the Youth Parliament aims to raise environmental awareness among young people and to recognize the exceptional ecological values and economic potential of the Sava River, as well as the importance of cross-border cooperation in the field of water.

Organizer of the Youth Parliament, as well as most of the other events of the day of the Sava River in all four countries, is the International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC), an international institution that coordinates the efforts of all countries towards the protection and the development of the Sava River Basin.

The "Water in the Sava River Basin - Development and Protection" competition is addressed to school students from the ages of 4 to 8 and their teachers. Children are invited to draw a storyboard (a series of drawings representing the main scenes of the cartoon). Through their stories, kids should provide a creative contribution to raising awareness on the sustainable use of water and the importance of the development and the protection of the Sava River Basin.

The competition is open to secondary schools from the four countries of the Sava River Basin, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Each school may cooperate with one or several story boards. Deadline for participation in the competition is 24 April 2014. The winning story with the funny and unpredictable pet pals as protagonists will be turned into an animated short film by Gruppo Alcuni, with the support of the UNESCO Venice Office.

Whether or not a story board will be selected, taking part in this exciting competition will be a unique opportunity for kids from the region to raise awareness, and to learn something new about water and what one could do to safeguard such a precious element!